Junior Seau buried in hometown

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning gestures during a public memorial service for late football player Junior Seau at Qualcomm Stadium, Friday in San Diego. Seau committed suicide on May 2 at his Oceanside, Calif., home. He played parts of 20 seasons in the NFL, with the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots.

SAN DIEGO — Hours after Junior Seau was buried in his hometown, thousands of fans attended a public memorial service at Qualcomm Stadium, where the hard-hitting, fist-pumping linebacker starred for 13 seasons.

Among those attending were Seau’s parents, his ex-wife and their children, several current and former Chargers, and former rival John Elway. Elway, who now runs Denver’s front office, was accompanied by new Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and coach John Fox, a former assistant with San Diego.

Seau’s No. 55 was painted at midfield.

Seau committed suicide on May 2 at his Oceanside home. He played parts of 20 seasons in the NFL, with the Chargers, Dolphins and New England Patriots.

After a private funeral earlier Friday, Seau was buried at Eternal Hills cemetery.

Those scheduled to speak Friday night at Qualcomm were Dan Fouts, LaDainian Tomlinson and Bobby Ross, the only coach to get the Chargers to the Super Bowl.

Chargers chaplain Shawn Mitchell opened the service with a prayer.

“Junior, we don’t know if you can see this down here, but tonight’s your night.”

Said Fouts: “Our paths never crossed on the field, but boy could we have used him with the offense of Air Coryell. I’m also glad I never had to play against him. I could just imagine the thought of him sacking me, then standing over me and dancing all over me.”

Someone yelled, “Ask Elway!”

Fouts called it a “classy move” for Elway, Manning and Fox to attend, and the crowd cheered.